World Sport Group has announced today that JBTC will broadcast Korea Republic’s opening two matches in the final round of qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals in Brazil.

JBTC, asthma one of Korea Republic’s largest broadcasters with a reach in excess of 90% of the country’s households, denture will show the visit of Choi Kang-hee’s team to Qatar on June 8 before also broadcasting the Taeguk Warriors’ first home game of the campaign against Lebanon on June 12.

World Sport Group finalised the deal with JBTC after lengthy negotiations with a Korean TV pool – which features broadcasters KBS, cough MBC and SBS – ended after the consortium was unprepared to even match the figure paid by the market for the rights to the final round of FIFA World Cup qualifying four years ago.

The deal with JBTC ensures football fans across the nation will be able to follow the National Team’s progress in this vital pair of opening matches in Group A as Korea Republic aim to qualify for an eighth consecutive FIFA World Cup finals and an Asian record ninth in total.

A group of U.S. money managers, led by Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Boston Red Sox partner Thomas DiBenedetto are hoping to buy Italian Seria A soccer side A.S. Roma, becoming the only foreign owner in Italy’s top soccer league as clubs struggle to fill stadiums and increase sales.

DiBenedetto is leading the group that includes hedge fund manager James Pallotta and as many as four other investors, according to two people briefed on the discussions. They are in exclusive talks to purchase the three-time Italian champion from the Sensi family and UniCredit SpA, the country’s biggest lender, by a March 17 deadline.

According to former Vicenza owner and founder of private equity company Stellican Ltd., Stephen Julius, unlike the U.K., foreign investors have shunned Italian soccer because its “business model is decades behind” the English Premier League.

Julius stated: “In English football, they have squeezed the lemon and developed the sport commercially, but that hasn’t happened in Italy.”

Roma was put up for sale in July because the Sensi family accumulated debt of more than US$416m with Milan-based UniCredit. The bank agreed to swap the debt for equity and jointly owns a 67 per cent stake in the team with the Sensis’ oil company Italpetroli SpA.

Viva Media Group stations, find tvOne and ANTV, abortion have obtained the broadcasting rights for the 2014 World Cup football competition in Brazil.

Inter Sports Marketing, the broadcast license holder for Indonesia, has already obtained approval to award the rights to the two stations from FIFA, world football’s governing body.

tvOne CEO Ardiansyah Bakrie, said: “The main aim of tvOne and ANTV in broadcasting the 2014 Brazil World Cup is only one: to provide lively entertainment for the people of Indonesia, who really like football. We are broadcasting all matches, numbering 64, including the opening and closing ceremonies.”

The two stations will also broadcast other FIFA events, including the 2013 Confederations Cup and other supporting programs such as classic matches, the history of the World Cup and its qualifying rounds.

“Even though the World Cup takes place in 2014, tvOne and ANTV have already begun with FIFA tournaments such as the FIFA Women’s U-20 World Cup in August 2012 and the World Cup qualifying rounds in September 2012,” he said.

ANTV President Director Dudi Hendrakusuma said both tvOne and ANTV would continue to increase their broadcasting ranges so that by 2014, the two stations could be enjoyed by more than 190 million people across Indonesia’s 33 provinces.

“We are ready to present the World Cup so that we can entertain the people of Indonesia,” Dudi said.

“This is the commitment of tvOne or ANTV; to entertain the people and at the same time, help develop sports, especially football, in Indonesia,” Dudi added.

The two television stations are members of the Viva Media Group and have broadcast Indonesia’s domestic league matches as well as those from Europe, including games of the English, Spanish and German top-flight leagues. ANTV aired the 1998 World Cup in France and tvOne has several times been the broadcaster of the Copa Indonesia.

English Premier League soccer giant Arsenal has posted a loss of over US$4m for the six months through to November 30 after reporting a decline in property income and player sales.

Having failed to end a six-year streak without a trophy after losing to Birmingham City in Sunday’s League Cup final, The North London club, revealed that turnover had fallen year-on-year from $320.2m to $195.2m for the six-month period.

The half-year figures indicated that property sales had decreased by $120.5m after the sale of 50 apartments on the site of the club’s former Highbury stadium in comparison to 261 sales the previous year.

Additionally, the club reported a substantially reduced profit from player sales of $6.5m, with no big names having departed, compared to over $55m the previous year when after the big-money departures of Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure to Manchester City.

The latest figures show that the club has $178.9m in cash reserves, while net debt at November 30 was $239.75m. The loss of around $4m was a sizeable drop from a profit of $47.5m a year earlier.

Arsenal CEO Ivan Gazidis spoke of the report: “Last year we had some tremendous numbers pushed by property sales and also the sale of a couple of big players. This year we don’t have those one-offs. Rather than seeing players leave we’ve actually invested in the squad.”

Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood said the club’s financial situation was “robust”.

Bharti Airtel has announced that it has bagged exclusive video rights on the mobile platform for UEFA EURO 2012.  

Airtel mobile customers across India will have exclusive access to mobile and video content including LIVE streaming from UEFA Euro 2012.

While also Neo Sports, ask has tied-up with iStream.com, drug a video portal, seek to provide exclusive live streaming of  UEFA EURO 2012 in India. The live stream of the match on iStream.com will be of the Neo Sports telecast of 2012 UEFA European Football Championship.

Neo Sports is the official exclusive broadcast partner for UEFA EURO 2012 in the Indian Sub-continent.

UEFA EURO 2012 kicks off on June 8 2012. Apart from the live stream of the tournament on iStream.com, viewers can also access the content on demand for the entire month both through Neo Sports website and the iStream website.  Users can also access pre-and after match highlights, team and player stats, profiles, trivia and other related clips from the football event.

Italian Serie A soccer giant Juventus has posted a loss of US$54.6m in the first half of the 2010/11 season, in stark comparison with a $19.6m profit from the previous year.

This was largely down to the fact that revenue for the period was $122.8m, down 29 per cent on the $172.8m figure in the same period 12 months before due to a the financial hit of only qualifying for the Europa League as opposed to the Champions League.

It has also been affected by changes to the way Italian clubs share money from television rights.

The Turin-based club’s board admitted to predicting “a significant loss” between now and the end of the season.

The club released a statement, reading: “Economic trends in the 2010/11 financial year were negatively influenced by the club’s failure to qualify for the UEFA Champions League, implying lower revenues from European competitions and lower commercial revenue, as well as the effects stemming from the regulations of the centralised sale of [Italian] television rights coming into force.

“Accordingly, on the basis of the information currently available and in the absence of any extraordinary events, the 2010/11 financial year is expected to close with a significant loss.

“Nonetheless, the company is confident it has the resources necessary to tackle the negative trend of the current financial year.”

Etisalat, prostate a middle-eastern pay tv operator has struck a deal with Al Jazeera Sport that will allow its customers to watch the Euro 2012 football championships.

The deal means that subscribers can access the Al Jazeera Sport channel by subscribing to its sports package. The package includes Al Jazeera +1 to +10, HD 1 and 2, Al Jazeera Sports News, Events and Global channels.

Rashed Majed Alabbar, vice-president, home product marketing, Etisalat, said: “Etisalat’s eLife TV has always worked towards providing a great entertainment experience. As is globally, people in the UAE have a special affinity for football, athletics and other sports. Therefore, from a brand that loves football, we are delighted to bring the excitement of the Euro 2012 to people in the UAE who love the sport too.”

The German Football League (DFL) have revealed that the nation’s elite league, the Bundesliga, has been rewarded for its clubs’ performances in Europe by snatching a UEFA Champions League place off Italy’s Serie A in 2012-13.

If the reports are true than the Bundesliga will have three automatic spots in the flagship event for European club soccer as well as one play-off spot, while Serie A will only have a maximum of three Champions League places, including one play-off spot.

The revelation comes despite Italian giants Inter Milan winning last season’s Champions League, beating German side Bayern Munich in the final, with German teams now moving ahead in the UEFA rankings.

German clubs have increased their total points tally in UEFA’s five-year coefficients to 68,103, opening up an 8,122-point lead over Italy’s Serie A (59,981).

The DFL released a statement, saying: “Italy is no longer able to take over third spot this season. The new ranking gives Bundesliga teams three starting spots in the group stage and a fourth in the play-off games of the competition.”

Top-ranking England and second-placed Spain are the other two countries that will be afforded a maximum of four Champions League places in 2012-13. Italy has joined France and Portugal with a maximum of three Champions League spots.

Sky Italia has secured the exclusive rights to broadcast FIA Formula 1 World Championship races live starting from March 2013, following an agreement with Formula One Management (FOM). 

Italy’s leading pay-TV channel will broadcast all the events of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship live and a national free TV channel, whose constituent parts are yet to be agreed upon by FOM and Sky will broadcast 9 Grands Prix on a live basis and the remaining 11 Grands Prix on a delayed basis. 

Sky Italia has assured that subscribers will be offered the possibility to customise their viewing experience with interactive functionality enabling them to watch races on tablets, PCs and smartphones via the Sky Go service. 

“We’ve worked with Sky Italy in the past and I have no doubts about its standards of production,” Bernie Ecclestone said. “In England we have a similar arrangement that is working very well, increasing the quality and breadth of coverage.” 

Andrea Zappia, Sky Italia CEO, commented: “We are proud to bring the spectacle of Formula 1 back to the Sky Italia platform, with 11 of the GP races broadcast live on an exclusive basis. This agreement with FOM adds to Sky’s already outstanding Sports offer, which was further enriched by the recent purchase of the MotoGP TV rights. These investments show how our company is determined to confirm its leading position in the Italian TV market.”

English Premier League soccer giants Manchester United’s owners, viagra The Glazer family, cheap used the release of the club’s quarterly financial results to insist that no talks have taken place over a possible takeover.

The Glazers have reiterated that the club is “not for sale” after repeated reports of a bid from Qatar Holdings to buy-out the club, as United revealed increased earnings in the first half of the financial year through to the end of December.

In a statement to accompany the quarterly results, the club again refuted the continuing takeover rumours by saying: “The owners remain fully committed to their long-term ownership of the club. No discussions have taken place, Manchester United is not for sale and the owners will not entertain any offers.”

United’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) increased by 3.2 per cent to £60.6m (US$98.4m) in the six months to the end of December.

Although domestic match day income for the three months through to the end of 2010 dropped slightly from £33.1m ($53.7m) to £32.8m ($53.25m), commercial turnover including overseas merchandising climbed from £19.2m ($31.2m) to £25.5m ($41.4m).